MANILA — House prosecutors on Tuesday questioned Vice President Sara Duterte’s denial of owning Jollibee franchises, highlighting discrepancies between her statements and her official asset declarations.
Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro pointed out that Duterte declared herself a shareholder of GenCorp Industries Inc., a company with Jollibee franchise interests, in her 2022 and 2023 Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs). These alleged undeclared assets became a focal point during the Senate impeachment trial regarding unexplained wealth.
Luistro emphasized that the Vice President’s own filings hold significant legal weight.
“I wish to reiterate the jurisprudence, which I shared already before the honorable impeachment court, that the court gives more weight to admissions made by a public official. Ito ay kinakatigan ng korte ang sariling admission na ginawa ng public official,” Luistro said.
“And as a matter of fact, it throws to the public official to show that that admission is a mistake and as far as we can remember, never pa niya dinispute yung SALN na yun. Never pa niya dinispute na shareholder talaga siya ng GenCorp Industries Incorporated,” she added.
Duterte previously denied owning any Jollibee franchise, explaining that she merely invested in a firm connected to a legitimate business organization.
However, Luistro urged the Vice President to confront the issue directly before the impeachment court.
“You cannot operate a Jollibee unless you are a franchise holder. We know that. And siguro mas maganda sagutin niya squarely before the impeachment court so that all her representations will be considered as testimony in court,” Luistro said.
“I think she needs to address squarely her own admission in the SALN. Yung SALN na yun, hindi naman prosecution ang gumawa, it was the respondent’s own admission under oath and it was her own submission as well. We are just relying on her own admission,” she added.
Meanwhile, Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon criticized Duterte’s defense, arguing that a shareholder inherently maintains an ownership stake in a company’s business assets.
“Very clear, hindi ka magkakaroon ng prangkisa kung wala kang pag-aari nung kumpanya. At kung mayroon kang pag-aari sa kumpanya, ikaw rin yung may-ari. Ibig sabihin, kung mayroon kang 20% stake doon sa franchisee, dito pong mga fast food na ito, eh di mayroon kang 20% na pag-aari doon di ba?” Ridon said.
Ridon also questioned Duterte’s legal background regarding the matter.
“So, huwag tayong inaabogado ng ating Pangalawang Pangulo. Alam ko mataas yung bar rating niya, pero hindi naman bar rating ang lahat di ba?” Ridon noted.
“Malinaw na pagka ikaw ay shareholder ng isang kumpanya, ikaw din yung may-ari. At kung ano yung pagmamay-ari ng kumpanya na yun, kung ano yung porsyento mo, yun yung porsyento ng pagmamay-ari mo doon sa mga pag-aari na yun,” he concluded.